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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Ultimate God Complex!, January 31, 2006
This review is from: Adrenaline (Paperback)
God Complex.
Doctors are often labeled with having God complexes. Sitting upon the pedestal in which the public has placed them, it is easy to believe the supreme beings, adorned in their white coats, pick and choose who lives or dies...but what happens if it is true?
Doug Landry, a young anesthesiologist, finds himself asking this very question. When a string of patients start dying by extraordinary, `accidental' circumstances, Doug is forced to investigate the very colleagues with whom he works everyday. He must determine whether the Grim Reaper is frequenting Mercy Hospital by chance, or is he being continually summoned?
Properly entitled, Adrenaline is a thrill ride from the opening chapter. Dr. John Benedict has written a novel encompassing the intrigue of Michael Crichton's "E.R." combined with the thrill of "Crime Scene Investigations." More than this, however, John Benedict takes the reader into the life and mind of a doctor. Though some doctors may have God complexes, with these complexes come an awesome sense of responsibility for the lives that are in their care.
In Chapter 8 of Adrenaline, Benedict writes, "Mike realized that all doctors must face this crossroads at some point in their careers. If they detach too much from their patient's pain, they become heartless bastards with no sense of caring or empathy, no ability to heal the soul, the most important part of their patient. If they don't detach at all, they risk being dashed on the rocks of human suffering." This was a spectacular observation, which I'd never considered before I read this book.
Benedict does a wonderful job in taking his reader into the operating rooms, the conference rooms, the locker rooms and even in the privacy of the doctors' stalls (have to read the book to understand that one). He also takes the reader into the political realm of doctors, the blame games and the finger pointing.
Adrenaline is a thrill ride from beginning to end. This is a top-notch medical thriller and I hope it is the first of many from Benedict. He could easily become the next Dean Koontz with a medical degree.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A highly exceptional medical thriller!, September 28, 2005
This review is from: Adrenaline (Paperback)
September 24, 2005
Under anesthesia, Mr. Rakovic is prepped for an arthroscopy of his right knee when he unexpectedly develops a lethal heart rhythm. For an hour two excellent anesthesiologist's frantically work to reverse the arrhythmia, as the electrically charged paddles heaved his body off the stainless steel table and filled the room with a pungent odor. Ultimately, their efforts fail and Mrs. Rakovic is given the mournful news.
This powerful entrance will immediately pull readers in and continues from there on out, as a corporate meeting ensues, placing employees of Keystone Anesthesia on edge while Our Lady of Mercy Hospital debates whether to merge with General and somewhere around the corner a possible takeover by Pinnacle Anesthesia looms. Intensely riveting, the action continues to climb and it doesn't take long for patients at Mercy Hospital's operating room to start dying unexpectedly!
Adrenaline is well written and an exceptional medical thriller that gives realistic insight into the lives of medical professionals. Dialogue flows smoothly with excitement, making it quite hard to put the book down.
Benedict has done an outstanding job at creating scenes, as well as characters, using every detail no matter how miniscule to evoke clear images and emotional response from readers, thus allowing us to really care about what happens to these characters.
Reviewed by Betsie
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A real page-turner, August 31, 2005
This review is from: Adrenaline (Paperback)
"Adrenaline" grabbed me with the very first chapter and I could not put it down until I finished it. Benedict has written a very good medical thriller that also gives readers a backstage pass into the lives of doctors both on and off the job. The dialogue flows so naturally, it almost seems as if you're eavesdropping in on a conversation. Characters are realistically drawn, from the heroes and villians down to the supporting characters who only appear in one chapter.
Benedict is quite adept at describing scenes and characters, using details small and large, that evoke clear images in the reader's mind. His skilled use of imagery elicits an emotional response so that the reader ends up really caring about what happens to the characters, even after their story is told. The last page contains a passage about love that is so moving, it will not be forgotten soon.
While the climax of the novel stretched 'willful suspension of disbelief' to the max for me, it compared favorably to other medical thrillers, such as those by Michael Palmer. The only other negative aspect of the book was that it wasn't long enough. I wanted to know more about these people and their lives. I would read more by this author.
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